Tape holder



' May 14, 1957 c. sADowsKY 2,792,186'

Y TAPE HOLDER Filed March 11, 1954 MAGNET FIG. 3.

\ MAG/VET INVENTO CHARLES SADO Y BY MMM ATTORNEYS.

TAPE HOLDER Charles Sadowsky, Great Neck, N. Y.

Application March 11, 1954, Serial No. 415,528

Claims. (Cl. 242-849) This invention relates generally to sewing devices, and is particularly directed to a novel combination sewing accessory.

The particular embodiment of lthe present invention, which is illustrated in the drawings and which will be described hereinafter in greater detail, comprises generally, a casing, a spirally wound resilientstrip disposed within the casing and having its outer end extending through and out of the casing for manual extension against the self-retracting force of the strip, and means for locking the strip in any desired position of its extensile and retractile movement.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a combination device of the type described in the foregoing paragraph, which includes novel structure adapted for locking the strip in any selected position of its eX- tensile and retractile movement, so that maximum manual freedom is afforded the user to permit the performance of operations accompanying the measuring operation. Stated otherwise, the device of the present invention combines the space saving advantages of a wound or retractable tape with the ease and convenience of use of a straight or unwound tape.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sewing device having the abovementioned advantages, which is simple in construction and operation, and which lends itself to manufacture in a variety of neat and attractive, aesthetic forms and configurations. The device of the present invention is additionally characterized by durability in use, requiring a minimum of relatively simple parts, and by assembly, manufacture and sale at a reasonable cost.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplied `in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

in the drawings: Y

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the sewing device of the present invention, with the casing partly broken away for clarity of understanding,

Fig. 2 is a top perspective view, partly broken away, showing a supporting member removed from the `assembled device of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the casing bottom section of Fig. l, with the wound strip and supporting member removed therefrom;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the casing top section removed from the assembled device;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view,l greatly enlarged, taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and showing the strip locking means of the present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the casing top section in inverted disposition.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the

ited States Patent 2,792,186 Patented May 14, 1957 embodiment of the invention illustrated therein comprises a casing, generally designated it?, a chassis or supporting member 11 disposed within the casing, a spirally wound or coiled, resilient strip i2 supported in the chassis, and a manually actuable strip locking member i3.

The casing it) includes a lower, cup-shaped section 1S, which is preferably but not necessarily fabricated of plastic material and has a relatively thin bottom wall rice 16, for a purpose appearing presently. The upper edgeportion or rim of the casing section i5 is provided with an annular, upstanding ridge i7, which is spaced inwardly from the outer surface of the lower casing section to deline 4an annular, upwardly facing, external shoulder i8. The casing section bottom wall i6 is formed on its inner face With a pair of upstanding pins or lugs 19, which are spaced apart suiciently to frictionally grasp and retain therebetween a permanent magnet 2d, the latter being preferably in `abutting engagement with the inner surface of the bottom wall 16.

The top or upper casing section 22 is also cupped, and disposed in inverted, facing relation with respect to the bottom section 1S. The edge portion of the upper casing section 22 is formed with a depending, annular wall or skirt 23 which is spaced from the inner surface of the upper casing section to define a downwardly facing internal shoulder 2d. lt will now be understood that the depending wall or skirt 23 of the upper casing section 22. is adapted to embracingly engage about the upstanding ridge i7 of the lower casing section and abut against the external shoulder liti. Thus, the edges of the casing sections are adapted for intertitting engagement with each other to define a closed casing, and may be iixedly secured in their interiitting engagement, as by adhesive or other suitable means. The internal shoulder 24 of the upper casing section is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed, arcuate recessed portions 25 and 26, which preferably have their end walls 25a and 2da in parallel spaced relation with respect to each other, all for reasons appearing in detail hereinafter.

Generally centrally of the upper casing section 22 is formed :an inwardly depressed portion 28, see Fig. 5, which opens into the casing interior, as at 29. An inwardly offset jaw portion, locking shoulder or lip 30 is spaced beneath the opening'ZQ. Adjacent to the depressed portion 23 of the teasing section 22, and journaled therein, is a stern or shank 3i which has a generally disc shaped locking member or plate 32 eccentrically secured on the inner shank end, the outer shank end extending exteriorly of the casing it). As shown in dot-and-dash outline in Fig. 5, rotative movement of the shank 3l -will effect swinging action of the locking member 32 into the space between the jaw portion 3@ and the opening 29, to close the latter, all for purposes appearing more fully hereinafter.

The chassis or supporting member 11 is best seen in Fig. 2, and inclu-des a pair of parallel spaced side walls 3d and 3S interconnected and spaced apart by an end wall 36. laterally outwardly projecting wall portions or iianges 37 and 3S are formed on the upper edges of the spaced walls 34E and 35, respectively; and, an outwardly projecting flange 39 is formed on the upper edge of the end Wal136. it will be noted that the anges 3? and 3S are substantially rectangular in configuration, so that their corner portions will seat on the ridge i7 and be conformably received in the end portions of the recesses 25 and 26. By this construction, the chassis 1l is firmly held between the engaging edge portions of the upper and lower casing sections and xedly positioned with respect to the casing. The ange 39 extends into and is clamped within the recess 25 to further secure the chassis in the casing. y

Disposed in the space between the chassis side walls 34 and 35 is the spirally wound resilient strip or tape 12,

The tape has its pole or inner end and anchored to the chassis 11 by means of a cotter pin 40, which extends transversely across the chassis. More particularly, the cotter pin 40 projects through and beyond opposite sides of the chassis walls 34 and 35; and, the inner end of the strip 12 is extended between the legs of the cotter pin intermediate the chassis walls, and thus xedly secured to the cotter pin. The outer end of the spirally coiled strip 12 extends through the casing opening 29 and is provided with a nger tab or stop 41 exteriorily of the casing. The coiled strip 12 is initially set in tension, even in its fully retracted condition, and is maintained in tension by the cotter pin 40. That is, the free ends 40a of the cotterpin legs are bent toward the chassis wall 35 to the position shown in Fig. 1. The coil tension serves then to maintain the cotter pin legs in bearing engagement with the flange 38, and prevent unwinding of the strip. However, upon manual grasping `of the leaf-shaped tab 41, the strip may be withdrawn through the opening 29 to any -desired extended position, which withdrawal serves to increase the coil tension. Upon release of the tab 41, the coil tension will serve to retract the strip inwardly through the opening 29 until the leaf 41 engages with the casing 10 to prevent further retraction. The chassis side walls, disposed on opposite sides of the spiral strips, maintain the latter in properly coiled condition while permitting extension and retraction thereof.

It will be noted that the shank 31 may be manually rotated from exteriorly of the casing with the strip 12 in any position of its extensile and retractile movement. That is, the shank may be rotated until the lobe or outer portion of the eccentric disc 32 engages with the adjacent strip portion to clamp the latter between the locking member and jaw, and thus lock the strip in any desired position of movement. Of course, rotation of the shank 31 in an opposite direction will disengage the disc 32 from the strip 12 to unlock the latter and permit free extension and retraction thereof.

It will now be seen that the magnet permits the magnetic retention of needles, pins and other sewing supplies on the outer surface of the bottom wall 16, so that such supplies will be always disposed adjacent to the terminating point of a measured distance. As the strip 12 may be locked in any desired position of its movement by the locking member 32, the operator may release the strip without retraction thereof, and thereby permit the use of an additional hand in any accompanying operation, such as pinning, marking, basting or the like, in the same manner as with a conventional, non-retractable tape.

While the particular embodiment shown in the drawings has lbeen illustrated in the conguration of lan apple, Iit will now be apparent that the hereinbefore described construction is equally well adapted for manufacture in a wide variety of other fruits and diierent shapes and styles.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides a combination sewing accessory which fully accomplishes its intended objects, and which is well adapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture and use.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a pair of cupped sections arranged in edge to edge intertting engagement and defining a casing, said casing having an opening, a locking shoulder xed `in said casing adjacent to said opening, a chassis having projecting portions held between the intertitting edges of said cupped sections to iixedly position said chassis in said casing, a spirally wound resilient strip having a pole end anchored in said chassis and having its outer convolution extending through the opening and outwardly beyond said casing, the outer end of said strip being manually extensible against the resilient self-retracting force of said strip, a locking member mounted in said casing in the region of egress of said strip and movable -into and out of clamping relationship with the shoulder for releasably holding the strip against the shoulder in any selected position of its extensile and retractile movement, and hand actuable means extending through the casing and connected to the locking member for selectively effecting movement of said locking member.

2. The combination according to claim 1, said hand actuable means comprising a rotatable shank having one end extending into said casing, said locking member being eccentrically mounted on the end of the shank for locking and releasing movement upon rotary movement of said shank in opposite directions.

3. The combination according to claim 1, said chassis being transversely mounted in the casing and comprising a pair of facing, spaced walls, and a transverse member extending between said walls and tixedly secured to the pole end of said spiral strip, whereby said spiral strip is mounted in the space between said walls and the latter serve to maintain said strip in its spirally wound condition.

4. The combination according to claim 3, said transverse member comprising a cotter pin extending through and beyond the walls of said chassis, the pole end of said strip extending between and being secured to the legs of said cotter pin in the space between said walls, the free ends of said cotter pin legs being engageable with said chassis to limit rotation of said strip upon said extensile and contractile movement.

5. A measuring device comprising a casing, a supporting member mounted in the casing, a spirally wound tape carried by the supporting member and having self-retracting means, said casing having an opening through which the tape passes exteriorly of the casing, a shoulder formed in the casing below the opening and paralleling the opening, a rotatable pin carried by the casing and extending exteriorly thereof for manual manipulation and a locking member eccentrically mounted on the pin within the casing and movable into and out of clamping relationship with the shoulder to bind the tape thereagainst and hold the tapefin selected extended positions.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 694,329 Smeeton Feb. 25, 1902 1,569,699 Bergstrom et al. Jan. 12, 1926 2,064,862 Szabo Dec. 22, 1936 2,446,020 Nicholson et al. July 27, 1948 2,505,653 Shillman Apr. 25, 1950 2,684,815 Holz July 27, 1954 

